Business Roundup

BP will provide Lanxess with cyclohexane made with renewable raw materials, such as rapeseed oil and biomass. Lanxess uses cyclohexane as a nylon-6 feedstock at its site in Antwerp, Belgium.

Carbon Recycling has signed a supply agreement to use Johnson Matthey methanol catalysts in its CO₂-to-methanol plants. The two companies have been collaborating for 10 years.

Ingevity is increasing its production capacity for caprolactone by 20% through a series of optimization projects in Warrington, England, over the next year. The company acquired Perstorp’s caprolactone business, including the UK plant, for $675 million in 2018.

BASF and Cargill will expand a partnership to develop and sell enzyme products that help animals take up more nutrients from feed. The partnership will be widened to include R&D capabilities and distributing the enzymes to new countries.

Prokarium, a British specialist in microbial oncology therapies, has picked Wacker Biotech to manufacture its Salmonella-based immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Wacker will employ its live microbial products manufacturing plant in Amsterdam.

Angus Chemical plans to expand US production of tromethamine buffers, which are building blocks and emulsifying agents used in drugs, cosmetics, and other products. The addition of a fourth line at the firm’s plant in Sterlington, Louisiana, will nearly double its capacity for the buffers.

Axial Therapeutics has raised $37 million in series C financing to develop small molecules that target the gut to treat neurological diseases. Its lead candidate, AB-2004, is being evaluated to treat irritability in children with autism.

Orexia Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, will collaborate with Schrödinger to develop agonists of the orexin-2 receptor, a protein linked to sleep disorders including narcolepsy. Schrödinger will get an undisclosed up-front payment and potential milestone payments.